Summer in the Psalms - Week 2: “When I Need God's Guidance”

The problem behind every problem is the same problem. It's the sin problem. It's easy to define, just look at the word s I n. The middle letter tells the whole story. I. Sin is the great I problem. I wanna define my own truth, not God. I wanna be the one who's the boss of me, not God. wanna live for what I wanna live for. I wanna be my own God. And the scriptures are very, very clear. Sin blocks us off from God. It alienates us from a relationship with God. Sin is all about me. [00:53:00] (37 seconds)  #SinIsSelf

Listen, no matter how great the guilt, no matter how great the sin, no matter how great the shame, no matter how great the stain, the cross of Jesus is greater. Arthur Pink put it beautifully. Arthur Pink's reformed theologian put it this way. He said, the value of Christ's sacrifice was infinite because it was the sacrifice of a divine person. Therefore, it has value which is greater than all the sins of all put together. Reality is, friends, God invites us to know him. And the more I know him, the more he can guide me. [00:59:08] (41 seconds)  #CrossGreaterThanSin

David is teaching us something vitally important that is so easy to miss. Here it is. David isn't ultimately asking God for directions. He's asking for God's presence. He doesn't want something from God, he wants God. More than anything, David wants what God wants, to walk with him in intimate friendship. So here's a little news flash friends. God doesn't want to just give you guidance and send you off on your merry way. God wants to be your guide so that you can walk with him down his way. [01:07:43] (42 seconds)  #WalkWithGod

Listen, in order to make you strong, God will make you wait. In order to make you wise, God will make you wait. Order to make you more mature, God will make you wait. Some of you, you're waiting. Some of you are waiting for your love to be requited. It hasn't happened yet. Some of you are waiting for that acceptance letter or the callback. Some of you are waiting for that prayer to be answered. We're waiting. [00:48:14] (29 seconds)  #WaitingRefines

It's true. It's not the same at all. In fact, let me ask you. Let's just say you went on a trip to Tokyo, Japan. Wouldn't that be awesome? So let me ask you, would you rather, a, would you rather get a map? You have to figure out for yourself, all by yourself, where are the great places to eat, the safe places to go, and the cool sites to see. Would you rather have a map? Or b, would you rather have a reliable guide who takes you around to all the cool restaurants and safe places and cool sites? Me? I want the guide. Give me the guide all day long. [00:36:56] (35 seconds)  #GuideOverMap

So rather than a passive resignation, well, it is what it is. Trusting God literally is active. Looks to God for God's wisdom, for God's presence, for God's leadership in the situation. In fact, bible commentator Warren Wiersbe put it this way. Wiersbe said, when the outlook is bleak, try the outlook. Look to God. Lift up your soul to him. So let me ask you, do you trust God's timing? Because trusting God means trusting God's timing. [00:47:30] (44 seconds)  #TrustGodsTiming

So God doesn't know a person so bad he can't change them. Second thing, God doesn't know a promise so big he can't keep it. Verse 10, all the paths of the Lord, all of them are steadfast love and faithfulness for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. So again, steadfast love. Chesed, covenant relationship with the God who is a God of love. In other words, God does not withhold his love. He invites us into it. [00:57:29] (29 seconds)  #SteadfastLove

The fear of the Lord listen, if you're a parent, the best thing you can do for your children is not lecture them, is live out a healthy fear of the Lord. His offspring shall inherit the land. The best thing you could do for your children is to model what it means to have awe in God, fear of God in a healthy way, respect and reverence for God. Turns out friends, fear of God softens our hearts to God. I'll say it again. Fear of God softens our hearts to God. [01:03:32] (39 seconds)  #HealthyFearOfGod

I think a lot of people are like that. I feel like the idea of just God in general must be out to get them because life is frustrating and God must just be out to get me. The And truth is, listen, God is not out to get you. God is out to guide you and he's going to get your attention to do that. When life is confusing, when it's overwhelming, when you don't know what to do, God doesn't want to just give you guidance to go on your merry way. He wants to guide you. [01:00:25] (28 seconds)  #GodGuidesNotPunishes

Now here's the fact, God sees what you cannot see. God knows what you do not know. And rather than give you guidance, what God would rather do is be your guide. [00:38:03] (15 seconds)  #GodSeesItAll

And when we come to God saying, I've had it with my ways. I want your ways. I've had it with my wisdom. I want your wisdom. Guess what? God will answer that prayer every time. The fact is everyone trusts something, and only God knows everything and only God can be trusted. And the reality is for us, the more I know God, the more he can guide me. What does that look like? Well, God guides those who trust him more than themselves. But secondly, God guides those who allow him to change them. God guides those who allow him to change them. [00:50:46] (36 seconds)  #TrustAndBeTransformed

But in the same way, in making our way through this life, what we do not need is a brochure. What we do not need is directions. What we do not need is a map. We need a guide. Someone who sees it all. Oh, and who also loves us enough to walk us every step of the way. When we're good, when we're not so good. When we're easy to relate with, when we're not so easy to relate with. How can we ever find such a person? Well, his name is Jesus. And he loves you more than any other person. He is calling out to you today. Come to me. Walk with me. Let me be your guide. Let me be your savior. Let me be your God. Let's pray together. [01:11:37] (53 seconds)  #ComeWalkWithJesus

Make me to know your ways, oh Lord. Teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth. Teach me for you are the God of my salvation. For you I wait all the day long. Notice all the yous. It's not Italian. Notice all the yous. There's five of them. And David cries out to God in prayer. God, I wanna know your ways. I wanna know your paths. I wanna know your truth. Why is why is David crying out like this? Well, here's why. Because David has had his fill of his own way. [00:49:18] (37 seconds)  #TeachMeYourWays

Well, God isn't saying that we should cower in dread of his presence or be in terror of God's presence. In fact, when you look at the wisdom literature in the Old Testament, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, we see the statement, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom numerous times. Proverbs one seven, Proverbs nine ten, Psalm one eleven verse 10. Now fear of the Lord is not fear in the way that the mouse fears the cat. Fear of the Lord is the way is the fear in the way in which a child revere, respects, and is in awe of their loving and wise parent. [01:01:30] (38 seconds)  #FearOfTheLordIsWisdom

God guides those who trust him more than themselves. Now by show of hands, how many of you'd figured out that the more you know, the more you know, you don't know? Have you figured that out? It's like the more we learn, the more we realize we just don't know. And so here's a reminder. When it comes to what you don't know, it's a lot more than you think. [00:42:53] (23 seconds)  #TrustMoreThanYourself

Younger me thought I knew plenty. Would you agree that younger you thought you knew plenty? a result, I look back and I see a lot of painful mistakes. Not just pain in my life, but in the lives of other people because I thought I knew better and I was wrong. Is it just me? Anybody else have this experience in life? You see, it wasn't that we weren't smart enough. Listen. It's that we're too full of self. We're just too full of self. [00:51:27] (35 seconds)  #TooFullOfSelf

So I ask you, what when it all falls apart and it all hits the fan, what do you lift up your soul to? And the answer is the thing that you trust in. And the truth is there are many of you here today, you feel beat down. Maybe spiritually, maybe relationally, maybe emotionally or mentally, feel beat down. Maybe you feel like you've got all kinds of enemies. Could be a bitter family member. Could be an ex friend or a horrible boss or coworker or a bully. So what do we do? We react. [00:45:52] (31 seconds)  #LiftYourSoulToGod

So let me ask you, have you ever come to that place in life where you've had your fill of your own way? Have you ever come to that place in life, you had your fill of what you can know? You had your fill of what you can do. You had your fill of what you can understand. And the reality is when you find yourself at that place where you've had the fill of your own way, you will cry out to God. And guess what? Here's some good news. God always responds to the prayer. [00:49:55] (26 seconds)  #CryOutToGod

And what do you do when you're waiting? And I want you to notice if you're looking at the Psalm, those first three verses give a picture of waiting. Notice the prepositional phrases, to you, in you, for you. I lift up my soul to you. I trust in you. I wait for you. That's what faith looks like. So it's trusting God's timing. Second thing is trusting God's wisdom. Look at verses four and five. [00:48:43] (28 seconds)  #TrustAndWait

So what do we do? We react. React by doing what? Well, typically, we react by lifting up our soul to whatever will make the problem go away or whatever will make the pain of the problem go away. Now because God knows it all and God sees the whole picture, listen, you can trust him. But when it comes to trusting God with the things that we don't know, it takes a very particular form. [00:46:19] (27 seconds)  #RespondWithFaith